Plopitou
by Amliudo
Summary: tata
1. Chapter 1

That night, the young woman whom Ali had become lay in deep despondency, still masked in a dust veil. Nerves frayed, grief afflicting her, Ali yearned for the slumber which would not come.

Sleep had almost overtaken her when she heard footsteps. Having sent all her other servants away to keep her secret, she supposed it was Aram.

"Aram! I told you to go to bed! Stop moving around!"

Then Ali heard a gasp in the corner. It was like no gasp that the bath slave would have made.

"What --? Who is it? Who hides behind the curtain?"

A slim figure emerged into the lamplight. "Where is my brother, maid?" the intruder demanded. "And why are you wearing a sleeping robe like his?"

"Ayeesha!" the prince gasped.

"Do you know me, slave? Do I also know you under that mask?"

"Ayeesha! Do not shout or call for the guards."

"What are you talking about, girl?"

"I am no girl!" the muffled prince declared despondently. "I -- I am Ali!"

Ayeesha stepped up closer. "Ali? What sort of fool do you take me for? Your voice is a girl's. Your size is also a girl's!"

"Let me explain!"

And explain Ali did. Ayeesha refused to believe it at first, but she plied the masked female with many questions and finally was convinced.

"Oh, Brother, what an incredible story!"

A moment of awkward silence followed, then Ali asked: "Why have you come?"

"I have heard that you were about to depart on a long pilgrimage to the East," she explained. "This made no sense, as everyone knew you were to marry the Princess Badiat a few days hence. And if some sudden religious passion had truly taken hold of you, I knew that you would at least visit me before you departed. Something seemed very wrong."

"Something is very wrong," Ali whispered, barely audible.

She touched her brother's arm. "Do not grieve so."

"Why should I not grieve? If you were suddenly made a male, would you not feel as humiliated as I do?"

Ayeesha shook her head. "No, I would be pleased."

Ali looked up incredulously. "You would jest so at a time like this?!"

"I speak true, Brother! In this world men can do everything and women nothing. If you go to Marshan, as you say you will, I beg you to return with a bottle of the fountain water -- for me. I would rather be your younger brother than any kind of a sister!"

Ali stared off into the shadows. "I do not understand you. I never have."

"Nor do I understand why you must hide your face from even me, dear Ali. Has this magic made you ugly?"

"No, not ugly. But -- my appearance -- it would shock you. You more than any other, perhaps."

"Do not be that way, Ali. I am not squeamish. Now that you have warned me, I expect to see a strange woman's face."

"It will not seem so strange. Councilor Madani explained what has happened. He said that the curse of the fountain does not simply change a man. It makes him over into the image of that one which he --"

"Which he what? "

"Which he holds in his secret heart to be the most beautiful in all the world."

"Oh, no, Ali -- thou hast not taken the shape of one of your own slave girls, or some belly dancer of the marketplace? My poor, poor dear brother!"

Ali shook her head. "No, it is nothing like that. Perhaps it is not so bad as that. Or maybe it is worse. I do not know."

"Then show me. I shall not quail."

Reluctantly, Ali drew down the dust veil.

Ayeesha's eyes started; she reflexively clenched the bedclothes.

"Brother, you -- you look like --"

"Yes," nodded Ali. "I look like -- you. . . ."

Scheherazade says:

"Before many days had passed, Ali and Hassan's caravan set out for the East, replete with many pack camels and thirty loyal warriors on horseback. But as swiftly as the royal party traveled, a small group of its enemies traveled just as swiftly in pursuit -- Yusuf and Mahmood, along with a few trusted hirelings from Achmed's personal guard. All of them began their journey unmindful of the hazards of their undertaking, bedazzled as they were by the vizier's extravagant promises of a rich golden reward.

"Once far out in the desert, the cunning Yusuf hoped to steal into Ali's night-camp and place the cruel bewitchment of Maiden's Ruin upon him. But, alas, by the will of Allah, a great sandstorm swept the wilderness, and the tracks of the larger party were covered up. As they searched for their quarry, Yusuf and Mahmood became hopelessly lost, falling many, many leagues behind their unsuspecting quarry.

Visions of gold.

Visions of gold.

"The journey was a long one, and the strain began to tell. Despondency fell especially hard upon the young man who was a man no longer."

They had crossed the borders of Persia that morning, and the beasts were rambling slowly along rocky, dry runs, grunting as they lurched over the ruts and gullies that scored the parched terrain. Scrub weed dotted the landscape, and this humble growth was the only foliage in an otherwise-barren world. The shadows were waxing large with the sinking sun, though the heat was still oppressive. Only the sounds of the wayfarers' animals broke the forlorn silence of the twilight.

At last Hassan gave the order to pause and set up the manzil, as the desert dwellers called their overnight camping sites, just as he had done many times before. Ali, as had become usual, said nothing, but remained aloof.

Before long, the campfires had bathed the rippled dunes with ruddy light and the men were serving out their rations of rice, camel milk, butter, and a bit of hare-meat taken in the last hunt. Ali ate swiftly, as usual, then rose and withdrew beyond the glow of the firelight. Hassan had noticed her solemn departure and then frowned down into his plate. He had learned the hard way that it did not profit to disturb his friend at such times, but yet Ali's black mood seemed to be unending. This night, concerned beyond the bounds of self-restraint, the warrior got up and followed the heir of Damascus to a remote spot under the white moonlight.

There Hassan espied his comrade sitting alone, forlornly staring at the sky. Hassan quietly sloughed through the deep sand until he stood close behind her. The prince must have heard him, but deigned not to look back, merely shifting uncomfortably, as if to signal that she did not wish to be disturbed.

"Ali, the night is cold. Come back by the fire."

"Leave me, Hassan. I know when to come out of the cold."

It was not the first time he had been so rebuffed, but Hassan persisted: "At least uncover your face, Ali. What is the point in hiding it out here in the desert? I, at least, already know what Ayeesha looks like." He reached out to take her dust veil.

Ali struck at his hand. "I said leave me!"

Hassan stood up tall. "I have been mistaken. I thought that we were following a prince. Now I see that we are escorting a modest girl -- one who veils her face before men, one who humbly demurs from speaking, one who seeks seclusion --"

With a wild cry, Ali sprang at Hassan and threw a punch at his face. The warrior dodged the blow, and the girl's feet slipped in the shifting sand. She would have fallen face-down, except that her swift comrade grabbed her in time.

Held, the prince fought hard to get away. "Jackal!" she yelled. "Release me! If this had happened to you, I would never treat you so!"

"You might not!" he said as he controlled her thrashing as he would have a stripling boy's. "But I hope I would not be acting so foolishly about what could not be helped."

He released her then and she staggered back. Hassan softened his tone: "I see one whom I have loved like a brother becoming a stranger. It is a loss which I cannot bear."

She turned away and faced the dark emptiness. "I wish I were a beast down on four legs rather than a woman!"

"You cannot mean that, Ali."

"I do! It is better to be pitied than laughed at!"

"No one is laughing at you. I am your friend, and these men are your most faithful retainers."

"What are they saying then?" she demanded with balled fists. "That this curse is the judgement of Allah?"

"Nothing of the kind!"

"Why not?"

"What do you mean, 'Why not?'"

Her answer came in a low whisper. "I ask that because I have thought the same myself."

He looked at her with amazement. "Why?"

Ali now settled dejectedly to the ground. "It makes sense, Hassan. -- You of all men know how I used to talk, used to admit that I was reluctant to assume the responsibilities of my birth. This is Allah's vengeance."

He dropped down beside her. "No, my friend, it is only the evil deed of some unknown sorcerer. Allah does not avenge himself for every small shortcoming. He is called 'el Rahman,' the Merciful, remember? If He were as vengeful against me as you believe he has been against you, I would be a donkey by now, not a man."

"So you say, but I cannot help but feel that I've been unworthy."

Hassan shook his head emphatically. "I cannot see it! Anyway, we will soon reach Marshan and restore you. Then no one except us few shall ever know that you were once bewitched."

Ali looked into his face and Hassan saw the uncertainty in her brown eyes. "But what if our quest fails? What will my life be then? Shall I take a room in the women's quarters next to Ayeesha's? Shall my father have two daughters? Should he announce a rich dowry and find me a mate?"

The warrior was saddened that such evil fantasies were going through his friend's head. "Whatever your fate, God alone knows it. But, Allah willing, I shall be forever at your side." He reached again for her veil, this time carefully, respectfully.

Ali caught the wrist in mid-course, but this time not in anger. She instead clasped it in a silent pledge of trust and camaraderie. Then she reached up and dropped the mask herself.

Scheherazade says:

"The friendship of Ali and Hassan, strong before that night upon the dunes, now grew deeper and closer still.

"After hundreds of leagues of taxing travel, the royal caravan reached its long-desired goal -- the city Marshan, which lay below the last mountain obstacle before the vast plains country of Khwarizm.

"Long before the soldiers of Damascus drew near, the sultan of Marshan had been informed by his watchful outriders, and a guard of honor was dispatched to escort Ali and Hassan to the palace."

The palace steward met the Syrian visitors cordially and ushered Prince Ali and Lord Hassan to quarters worthy of their dignity. He also extended the sultan's invitation that they should join him at feast upon sundown of the following day.

"Wait," remarked Ali as the man began to withdraw, keeping her voice low and gruff so that the steward would not suspect her secret.

"Sire?" the little man asked.

"We have heard very strange tales concerning Marshan."

"Ah, yes," nodded the steward suppressing a smile, "no doubt these stories concern the Magic Fountain of Marshan."

"Yes," agreed Ali. "Does such an amazing thing truly exist?"

"I believe it exists," said the jovial steward, "for I have seen it perform its miracle many a time. You may see it for yourselves. As it happens, some men will be transformed tomorrow."

"Transformed? Why would any man wish to subject himself to such a ghastly fate?" Hassan put in.

"Not by any choice of their own! The sultan's nephew and some young bravos gambled themselves into debt and then robbed some outlying villages to pay their moneylenders. They dressed as bandits and hoped that bandits would receive the blame for their evil deeds. But Allah was not deceived, and He caused them to be discovered. The most guilty of them have been condemned to be cast into the Fountain. They then shall be turned over to the royal whip-masters and trained to be slave girls."

Hassan and Ali exchanged perplexed glances.

"You say that the chastisement is public?" asked the Syrian warrior of the Marshanese.

"Of course! What is more edifying than to see those who break Allah's commandments punished by His own miracle? The punishments always draw a large crowd, but because it has been a long time since a high-born one has been condemned, the whole of the city shall doubtless turn out to see it."

Hassan shook his head dubiously. "I do not think --"

"No," broke in Ali. "We must satisfy ourselves that everything they say is true." She touched Hassan's arm. "We must."

The steward swelled with pride at these foreigners' appreciation of his country's uniqueness. "You shall see that it is exactly as I have told you, Great Prince."

The next morning Hassan and Ali saw something of Marshan, a wealthy, well-adorned city, with prosperous-looking people going hither and thither. Slave girls thronged the streets, and Hassan noted that they were not dressed with the same modesty that their Syrian counterparts displayed. Their halters were often sparse, flaunting exuberant cleavage, and their shaven legs sometimes flashed beguilingly through flowing skirts of veils.

They quietly passed by a slave market, which was poorly attended this morning -- probably because the punishment was just then drawing so many people away from the bazaar. There could be no other excuse, in as much as the women on display were young and beautiful, and dressed even more wantonly than the slave maids in the streets.

"Fountain girls," remarked their escort, a captain of Marshan.

"What do you mean?" rumbled Ali.

"These are rebels who were captured last spring," explained the officer. "They were cast into the fountain and then rigorously trained. Because rebellion is a most terrible crime, these wretches are earmarked to be sold only to foreign caravaneers. It is the wish of the magistrates that they live out their lives far from their native city."

"What land would want such accursed creatures?" the prince inquired.

The captain gave a short laugh. "The fountain girls of Marshan are eagerly sought out by connoisseurs of female flesh. Some men find it a rare thrill to wring cries of pain and mortification from a nubile girl who was once, perhaps, as virile and well-endowed as they."

"Is that what the men of Marshan think also?" asked Hassan.

Their guide shrugged. "Some do, I suppose. But most think about the matter little, if at all. Fountain girls are too commonplace hereabout for any serious man to concern himself with them."

Hassan could not believe that 'fountain girls' could ever be considered commonplace, at any time and in any place. Marshan seemed to him a wicked town, like Sodom in the days of old! The warrior looked up into the sky, as if half-expecting the dark clouds of the city's coming destruction to be descending from Allah's abode even at that moment.

This reproving thought seemed quickly validated when he saw a small crowd gathered around a young woman who was chained in front of wall. She was totally nude, except for a slave collar about her throat.

A fountain girl's punishment.

Hassan leaned toward the captain. "Is such a display not a scandal here?"

"Not at all! A public exhibition is one means to punish a displeasing slave."

"It is a harsh punishment!"

"No blood flows, shame leaves no scars. As punishments go, it is merciful," the soldier maintained, not perturbed.

Hassan shuddered.

They passed through the main city port, and before long they reached the precincts of the fountain. Hassan had expected to see a small pool fed by a spring. It was, in fact, a large pond whose edge was trimmed with a coping of stone blocks. On the opposite bank there stood a grand official edifice which, their guide explained, was a law court. Many trials were held there, he assured them.

A fountain girl's punishment.

How intimidating it must be, Hassan reasoned, for the felon to be tried overlooking the magic water which might soon supply his punishment.

A large crowd had massed up near the water's edge, and the captain rode his horse slowly into the midst of it, shouting: "Make way! Make way for the sultan's royal guests!"

The mob parted readily enough. Perhaps, thought Hassan, the sultan's low tolerance for rebels and rioters had something to do with their docility down there next to the pond's edge.

The captain dismounted and Ali and Hassan, doing likewise, slid down from their saddles to stand at either side of him. Hassan espied a group of guards and a smaller group of distinguished-looking elders over by the coping. These latter, wearing fine robes and pure white muslin turbans, seemed to be the presiding magistrates.

Two men stood between the guards, their hands tied in front of them. The captive pair wore good clothes, and these would certainly be a couple of the scoundrels who had raised havoc in the countryside.

"Bring forward Kislar Ibn Aglar," commanded one of the magistrates.

Two of the guards shoved the felon up before the judge. "Have you anything to say before sentence is enacted?" the later queried.

"There is no justice in Marshan!" the young felon declared loudly. "I am an innocent man. I fell in with bad companions, true, but always did I seek to dissuade them from deeds of rascality."

It was the man's apparent sincerity which persuaded more than his weasel words. But Hassan knew that many men, especially the sort common among ambitious politicians, were skilled and shameless liars. He suspected that Vizier Achmed was such a one, in fact.

A magistrate raised his hand to silence the man's pleading. "Our evidence finds you have been the worst of a bad lot, that you were indefatigable in egging on your despicable comrades to horrendous offenses. For that reason, Kislar Ibn Aglar, it is meet that you be punished first." He then gestured to the guards.

The two men obligingly dragged the felon to the edge of the pool, though Kislar dug in his heels and fought them all the way. A third guard came forward with a looped rope, and this he slipped over the head of Ibn Aglar and slid taut about the man's waist.

That being done, the pair seized their charge by the arms and legs, picked him up, rocked him back and forth, and finally hurled him out into the water, well beyond the stone coping.

The felon apparently couldn't swim, or was simply too shocked to try. Instead, he splashed frantically at the surface and yelled bloody murder. Hassan watched for any sign of a physical change, but could see little due to the distance, the victim's clothes, and the amount of water being thrown about. Nonetheless, he very quickly did discern that the manly howl of terror became very quickly a woman's shrill.

Now the guards were drawing the felon back to the stone-faced edge, and dragging him out of the fountain.

"Are the guards not afraid to touch the water?" Ali asked of the captain.

The Marshanese shook his head. "The guards who perform this duty are actually transformed women. They have taken wives, and so cannot be changed by the waters again."

Hassan blenched. This was a mad place, and he dearly wished to be away from it as soon as possible.

The crowd craned its necks to see what sort of woman Kislar had turned into, but for the moment he was left to lie like a great wet mass of laundry on the bank.

Next Lord Dwar was summoned up before the other judge. No doubt he had been unnerved by Kislar's punishment, but Hassan still shook his head at the sight of such cowardice. Dwar was craven, begging, importuning, incoherent. Kislar's unctuous pleading had been the model of manly fortitude by comparison.

The judge stilled him with a shout: "You are a disgrace to your noble family line! They have disowned you, cast you out. All you have to say has been said before. Naught is left, except that the punishment mandated by law is carried out!"

At his signal, the guards carried Dwar along, because he refused to walk. A scant three minutes later a figure babbling in a woman's voice was drawn out of the pool.

"Is Lord Dwar the highest-ranked personage ever to be so punished, Captain?" Hassan asked.

"Not so," the young officer replied. "The fifth sultan of the first dynasty was also so punished."

"A sultan?" exclaimed Hassan. "How can that be?"

"The man was an unworthy cur," the guide explained with knitted brows. "He lied, he cheated, he committed adultery with other men's wives. The Fifth Sultan broke every stricture of the Koran. Never since the days of Nimrod has their been a more evil man upon a throne of grace.

"That is saying much," remarked Hassan.

"It only gives the Fifth Sultan his due. In his youth, instead of training for war, he went away to Isfahan to study law. While there he defamed his own city and espoused the virtue of our foes. When the Fourth Sultan died, the wicked son who succeeded him secretly debauched the daughters of good families, those who had been sent to the palace as royal wards. He despised all that was cleanly and favored all which was debased. Though children are the most beloved of Allah, he declared that children might be killed at the instigation of their mothers, and by those whom their dams paid to the deed, if they deigned not to commit the horrendous murders themselves."

Hassan glanced away. Such evil could never have been performed by a living man. Surely the Fifth Sultan was only a myth, a cautionary tale of how depraved a head of state might become, but yet never had been. But, to the Syrian's surprise, the captain's catalogue of depravity was by no means finished:

"The Fifth Sultan surely did not believe in Allah, though he swore false oaths in the name of the Most High. Indeed, the wicked sultan made war upon all of his people who did not espouse atheism, even forbidding the symbols of Ramadan to be raised during the Holy Month.

"But, strange to say, as fierce and rapacious as the misbegotten sultan was toward the weak and innocent, he was in fact the least of men. He had a First Wife who was harsh and mannish in her manner, oftentimes discoursing in public and using words that made even harlots blush. This harridan witch was permitted by her spineless husband to perform magisterial functions traditionally forbidden to her sex. She even had leave to command the royal ministers and to voice her ignorance and prejudice at all the meetings of the royal council.

"The wicked queen engaged and dismissed servants of the state and, far worse, she was heard to boast that Marshan had two sultans -- and her craven lord accepted this insult." The captain shook his head in disgust. "A true man would have ordered such an unnatural consort to be quartered between running stallions for such an affront!

"Oh, the sins of that man! His father had already raised the taxes greatly, but the first royal act of the son was to raise them much higher still. Great wealth came to the treasury, even more than his extravagance found the means to spend, but the Fifth Sultan would never reduce his onerous assessments upon the people. He made the worst of men mighty in the courts and these rogues followed not Koranic law, but their own capricious whim. At last, tired of the need to buy forgiveness from the people by weeping in public address with quivering lip and red eyes, the Cursed of God imported foreign Turks from inner Khwarizm who knew not Allah, and lewd Indians who daily shed blood at the pagan altars of beast-faced demons. Those who protested the sultan's impiety were callously murdered by these hired assassins, and their bodies left in gardens, sewers, and parks.

"At long last, the people rose in anger and though the sultan's hirelings killed many, they could not fight all the people of the city. Indeed, the hosts of the town were greatly reinforced by hordes of farmers and shepherds who came from the hinterlands bearing scythes and lion-spears.

"The cowardly sultan was at last taken. He, along with his evil minions and his unwomanly wife, was cast into the pool."

"Women are so punished, too?" asked Hassan.

The captain nodded. "Sometimes. The First Wife was sent as a man to the salt quarries, to use her strength to carry heavy baskets from the mines to the wagons -- be it under the broiling sun or the cold wind of the season, and ever she groaned under the threat of the lash."

"What happened to the sultan?" Ali asked, forgetting to modulate her voice. Its pitch brought a sudden look of puzzlement to the captain's eyes. He looked about, as if supposing that another had spoken. Nonetheless, he answered the question:

"There was a foreign king, a cruel man, but one whom the Fifth Sultan had often attacked, not from cause, but merely to dispel the general contention that Marshan's lord was a coward. To this king was the sultan sold as a slave girl. It is said that for many weeks the former sultan was kept naked and chained by the neck under the table in the king's dining hall. She was not permitted to speak, except to whine for food and water like a bitch whines. Further, she was trained to please the men who sat at the king's table by the means of her hands and her mouth, even while they feasted from the table overhead. When she was permitted the relief of copulation, it came with the male assailing her from behind, directly, coldly, without gentling kisses or soothing caresses."

"What happened then?"

The captain shrugged. "It is unclear. With time, most people ceased to inquire after the Fifth Sultan. I think, too, that her kingly captor wearied of the kind of amusement which she had afforded him. There are divers stories of the subsequent fate of the Most Wretched of Allah, but none of them are more than rumor."

Hassan shook his head in disbelief. What sultanate would allow its master, even one of very evil repute, to be treated so by a foreign rival? A clean axe upon the neck of a fallen monarch was to be expected, but the degradation of a sultan degraded his city also.

An agitation in the crowd around them brought Hassan's attention back to the matter at hand. The judges had resumed the punishment of the felons after a brief recess.

"Because you two were the leaders of your despicable band," one addressed the prostrate Dwar and Kislar, "because you are high-born, and your deeds are therefore the more deplorable, your punishment shall come first. By the law of the sultan, I declare each of you slave. Guards, strip the bondmaids!"

The guards commenced to tear the sodden garments from the convicted robbers. Possibly, the Syrian nobleman supposed, the fact that these guards were formerly females made their present duty a particularly satisfying one for them.

When the condemned pair were finally rolled out of their voluminous garments, two new nude women were seen. One of them was yellow-haired, like a Circassian. The other girl was olive-complected, with black, flowing tresses. Both were slimly voluptuous. Had Hassan not known their origin, he would have been impressed and allured.

The onlooking mob huzzahed loudly and Hassan heard some bawdy comments. The guards worked quickly to bind the girls, and in a nonce the punished felons were tied back-to-back. Kislar and Dwar were subsequently carried as a joined pair through the crowd to be placed before a screen of lathes.

The screen was intended to protect their skin from the sun somewhat, but because it was latticed, it allowed the curious to gape at the condemned ones from all four sides, like beasts in a menagerie.

Afterwards, the remainder of the young hellions were punished. These were not stripped and displayed immediately, but the judges did not omit the necessary formality of pronouncing all of them to be chattel. Finally, bound hand and foot and thrown into a donkey cart, they were taken away. The two ringleaders were, last of all, brought from their place of display and slung up into a cart of their own. The ne'er-do-wells of the town and a large number of lewd little boys walked beside the conveyance as it rolled along. These individuals taunted the wagon's occupants raucously while the guards made certain that their boisterousness did not get out of hand.

Hassan had seen more than he had wanted of this matter and wished to be gone. Only then did it cross his mind that Ali might be well-advised to simply go to the edge of the water at that point and jump in. In fact, when he saw his friend gazing in that direction, he half-expected that she was about to do exactly that. But, for whatever reason, the heir of Damascus stirred not a step from where she stood and, when their official escort offered to take them back to the palace, she turned away from the fountain and swung up into her saddle.


	2. Chapter 2

It is a hot afternoon in a small Ice Cream parlor in a mall. Two women who seem to be on a normal shopping trip, are discussing matters of a supernatural order.

"No Marlene, I won't do it." the dark haired woman said to the pretty blonde sitting across from her. She was wearing a black sleeveless shirt and jeans.

"Come on Lori, why not? If he's cheating on you this is your chance to catch him!" Marlene said with a glint in her eyes. "After all men are pigs and this is not the worst thing you could do to him!"

Lori played with her straw, stirring her iced tea looking a little down. She flipped her long black hair back out of her eyes. Marlene rolled her blue eyes to the sky. Just then the Waitress came and set down their Ice cream. Marlene dug into her Rocky Road Brownie sundae. Lori just played with her Bananna Split.

"Do you need anything else?" the waitress asked. They both said no thanks and returned to their conversation when she was far enough out of ear shot. Marlene watched her all the way as she walked to the back.

"Cute!" was all Marlene said as she went back to her sundae.

"Isn't she a little too young for you, Marlene?" Lori asked in her southern accent trying to get Marlene's attention.

"Naw, what's a few hundred years between people?" Marlene said in her accent which was a peculiar mix of spanish and scottish. "Now where were we? Ah yes we were on the pendejo who calls himself your husband."

"I'm not going to do it Marlene, no matter what, I... I love him!" she said and went back to playing with her bannana split.

"How? Lass ye don't know what you're talkin about!" she said angry. "If he were my husband I'd turn the cabrone into the goat he is! Look if he's not cheating on you then there's nothing to be concerned about. I just want you to be happy!" Marlene said sitting down. She noticed that everyone in the place was staring at them.

Now it was Lori's turn to be angry. "Just because you don't like men doesn't mean they're all bad. Just because you can't have me, don't take it out on him!" she spat.

Marlene just looked at her dumbfounded. Lori felt guilty. "I... I didn't mean that, I'm sorry. Look I love him, and I love you, like a sister or a mother. You sponsored my membership in the coven and you've looked out for me. I'll never forget you." Lori said then guiltily went postal on the bannana split.

Marlene chewed on that a while then spoke. "I'm sorry lass, I know he means a lot to you and I shouldn't be pushing you." she said. Feelings were hurt on both sides and neither had a right to be angry for the wrong reasons.

Lori looked up and said,"All right, I'll do it. There is an antidote isn't there?"

Marlene was happy, even if Lori was doing it because she felt guilty. "Yes there is, after all we're witches! We can do anything!" They laughed and went back to scarfing their ice cream. Just then the waitress screamed, and a tray and bowls hit the floor.

"Bitch!" a guy shouted. The waitress tried to run but he grabbed her by the arm and held her. The manager came out and confronted the man. "What seems to be the problem sir?" she asked.

"This bitch just spilled Ice Cream all over me!" He said snarling.

"HE Grabbed my ass!" she said ready to kill him.

"Sir I'm going to have to ask you to leave!" the manager said.

He pulled back and punched the manager. He was a big guy with blonde hair wearing a black leather jacket and pants with no shirt underneath. The two women stood no chance against him. A guy from the next table got up and tried to stop him, but the 90 pound geek didn't stand a chance and was soon lying next to the manager on the floor. He was laughing and he brought the woman close and kissed her on the mouth. He thought he was invincible.

Marlene jumped on the table and landed a wicked kick in his not so ugly kisser. His sun-glasses shattered and dropped to the floor. He rolled with it so it didn't do much damage. He shook his head and lunged for the tall blonde woman who just embarrased him. She flipped over him and he ended up with a face full of ice cream.

"Stay still bitch!" the man screamed and lashed out at her with a back kick that caught her in the stomach. She went down and the man pressed hi advantage. He started kicking her on the ground.

"When I get up, and I will, you are going to wish life had passed you by!" "How do you like that bitch!" the man raged and kept kicking her. A lightning bolt flew from out of nowhere and struck the man. Fortunately just a second later a frying pan struck him from behind. He went down like a sack of wet sand. He was only stunned, incredibly. He looked up to see the waitress holding a cast iron pan.

Marlene looked over at Lori who gave her an innocent smile. Marlene gave her a wink then turned back to the man on the floor. "Now the shoe's on the other foot jerk weed!" she said and began to kick his ass seven ways from sunday.

He was handily defenestrated and lay in a pool of glass on the mall walkway. Several security guards were already on their way. The man was bruised and bleeding but he got up and ran.

As he ran he felt something strange. He seemed to be working harder but he was getting nowhere. His legs seemed shorter and he seemed weaker. Then he felt his chest explode outward and the strange weight almost knocked him over. He felt the hair on his back before he saw a lock of long blonde hair flop down in front of his face. His groin exploded as he hit the floor. The security guards were closing in and he scrambled into an open vent. The cops passed him by. Then he felt something else strange. His clothes changed around him into a french maid's uniform. He closed his eyes then he felt himself moving. He opened his eyes to find himself sitting on a bed in a richly furnished room.

Meanwhile back at the mall, they were cleaning up the ice cream shop. The security guards were taking statements and bandaging the wounds of the manager and the geek. Amazingly Marlene's wounds seemed slight almost as if they had healed instantly.

Marlene pulled out a wad of cash and went to the waitress,"Here this should cover the damage."

The waitress pushed the cash back to Marlene and said,"No, You saved my life, if it were up to me I'd give you money!" Then the manager came up and grabbed the cash greedily,"I'll take that!" Marlene whispered a curse under her breath and turned back to the waitress. Marlene introduced herself to the waitress and began making small talk. Lori shook her head and slurped down the rest of her bannana split then attacked Marlene's sundae.

The cops were talking to Marlene and the waitress now. Lori overheard them say the guy got away. Something told her that he had help, but that he wouldn't be where he wanted to be. Lori looked at her watch and then rose from the booth. She straightened her floral print one piece dress. She had pulled up her dress finally figuring out that marlene had been staring at her cleavage all afternoon. Then she headed for the door. Marlene saw her and made a beeline to intercept her.

"Where are you going?" Marlene asked wryly.

"I'm going to my aerobics class. You really ought to join me!" Lori said coldly. "Go back to your latest love. I wanna see the expression on her face when you tell her you're 500 years old."

Ouch, Marlene thought,"Why don't you just use magic to keep things in line?"

"Some things just aren't worth it if they are so easily changed." Lori replied.

"Well we're meeting friday. It's the full moon and the rite starts at midnight. The preparations begin at 7:00. Get the samples and we can begin the spell."

"By the way," Lori asked,"what happened to mister masher?"

Marlene smiled wickedly,"Let's just say he's going to know what it's like to have to wait on people. First he'll be a french maid, then a sled dog, a team horse etc. etc.!"

"Forget I asked, how long do you plan on puttin him through the wringer?"

"At least a few years." Marlene said.

Lori just whistled and thought how cruel Marlene could be. "I'll see you day after Marl, be good and, umm, don't break any hearts." she said then winked.

"Witch!" Marlene shot back.

"You know it!"

Marlene smiled and went back to hitting on the waitress.

'Damn', Harry thought to himself. 'I wish this bastard would get off my back. So far Lori didn't seem to know what was going on but I can't fool her forever.'

Then he heard the shower stop and lay in bed watching the door. It opened and Jake stepped out of the bathroom. With a wry smile he walked towards the bed. He crawled towards Harry and kissed him on the lips. Harry sat back and let Jake have his way. Jake had proof that Harry was embezzling and he would use that at the slightest hint of a betrayal. He didn't find it unpleasant, he had experimented in college with his gay friend, but he thought he had outgrown it when he married Lori.

He remembered that fateful day he was first pulled into this mess. He was called into Jake's office for something. He was nervous and figured he had been caught. It turned out that Jake was also dipping into the till and he had called Harry in to bribe him to look the other way. Something made him let his tongue slip and Jake Louis turned the tables. He made it look like Harry was taking all the money. If for some reason he didn't do everything Jake said, he would be thrown in prison. At first Harry resisted, he told Jake to get stuffed.

"The way I see it, you can either have sex with me, willingly, or become someone's bitch forcefully in prison. Now which will it be?" Jake said slyly.

Harry hated how smug the bastard was. But he had to keep him satisfied until he could get everything he needed to change the evidence back and nail Jake.

He was wondering what his wife was doing tonight. He didn't have to worry, he told her he would be working late. She said not to worry, she was going to be busy all night with her Sorority activities. He wondered what she did with her sisters all the time.

Just then Jake asked for a blow job. His own raging member begging for attention he did as asked and fell to his knees before Jake.

Somewhere else, in a sunlit clearing, several women are standing or sitting in meditation. All of them are wearing robes. Lori chanted over the specimen jars she used to contain the items extracted from her unsuspecting husband. The hair and nail clippings were easy. The hard part was the urine and blood. Luckily she had to get a sample for their insurance physical. So she just put the jar twenty feet from the toilet. She smiled to herself at that joke.

The blood was even easier. He liked her to shave him. She made him very relaxed and bled him a little without him being any the wiser.

She wondered if Harry had really been having an affair on her. He never came home smelling of perfume or with lipstick or makeup on him. In fact the only thing different about him was that he changed to a new brand of cologne. That was the only clue that she had that anything was amiss. That and the fact he had been having to work late a lot lately. Nothing seemed right but then nothing seemed wrong. She continued to chant and every once in a while she looked up at Marlene who winked at her signifying she though Lori was doing the right thing.

They continued to chant and meditate well into the night. She was glad this was one potion she didn't have to drink. The sun went down and the moon rose above the clearing bathing it in an eerie glow. The fire was burning a dim orange adding a comforting glow to the moonlight. The priestess stepped forward disrobed and cast a powder into the fire. She said something intelligible then stepped to the side as the fire flared up then returned to normal. One by one the other twelve women mimicked the ritual. Lori was the youngest therefore she went last. Then she took her place in the circle. The fire seemed to die down then turned a dark blue. It gave light yet at the same time did not drown out the moonlight.

The circle closed and the women held hands just as the moon came to a rest directly above the clearing. The moonlight seemed to come alive and the women seemed to draw sustenance from it. They began chanting a prayer.

Harry awoke to an eerie feeling, he looked out through the skylight to see the moon directly overhead. He had better get going soon. Lori usually arrived home at about two in the morning when she went out with her sisters. He thought they were doing charity work, he was about to get a hard lesson in reality.

Jake was not a complete asshole, he liked a lot of the same stuff that Harry did and he knew how to push all of Harry's buttons. He even got him tickets to all the hottest games in town. Jake claimed to love him, and said he knew the only way he could have him, was this way. But he wondered, why him.

Despite his being nice about it, Harry didn't like being forced into it. He also didn't like what this was doing to Lori. He still loved her. Despite the strange circumstances, he knew what this would do to Lori. She would probably never believe the strange story, especially how she revealed his experimenting to her. He was writhing under Jakes thumb but he was going to break free and bite him, hard.

Jake began to stir and called out to Harry. Harry returned to the bed where Jake began kissing him.

The women stopped chanting and Lori continued the prayer. She took her offering and threw it upon the fire. Then two of the women brought a small Clay jar filled with a viscous liquid. She continued to chant then mixed in the hair and the rest. The liquid glowed and they set the jar upon the fire and covered it with a glaze. They let it sit there and bake as they continued to chant. The magic was infused and the spell was cast. The only thing left to do was recite the words.

By the light of the moon

By the light of the fire

Grant me this boon

Spirits grant my desire.

If the man devote to me

Shall unfaithful be,

if his seed he spills

and another it fills

then forms shall he change

by their souls rearrange.

She spoke the words and smiled a bit as she looked at Marlene. Marlene nodded her approval. Other rituals and ceremonies were then performed as necessary for the full moon and to properly complete the circle.

Harry and Jake were in the middle of making love when the strangest feeling came over them. Harry withdrew and rolled out of the bed as sharp pains shot through his body. He didn't know what was happening. He felt like he wanted jump out of his skin. He looked up to see it happening to Jake as well. It was painful like something was pulling him in two directions and it was taking it's time making up it's mind.

Finally something happened. Harry's eyes grew wide with horror as all of Jake's hair receded into his body. The red hair on his head grew longer and his eyebrows thinned out. His nose became more feminine, and his cheekbones repositioned themselves higher. His lips swelled and became a different shade of red. His shoulders became less broad and he lost muscle mass all over his body. His chest began to swell and blossomed into full breasts with big erect nipples. His stomach flattened but stayed well toned and defined. His hips swelled outward as he writhed in a combination of ecstasy and pain. His pubic hair had already assumed a small triangular shape and his penus shrank into his crotch as his vagina formed itself. His abdomen pushed itself out a little then settled back as his, now her, uterus formed. Her legs were less muscular but still well toned and they took on a more feminine curve. Her ass swelled out and took on a nice curved shape. Her calves smoothed out and her feet shrank and became petite and well manicured.

Finally all of her bones crackled and snapped into their feminine configuration and she screamed almost as if having an orgasm. Then she lay silent and beautiful, panting in the afterglow of her change. Jake had been a handsome man, but he made gorgeous woman, Harry thought to himself.

Then Harry felt the changes. His body began to make changes exactly like the ones that just over took Jake. She screamed in an orgasm then fell to the floor trying to catch her breath. Just when she thought it was over, she found the roller coaster was just coming up over another hill.

She felt herself wrenched free of her body and felt the weird sensation of nothingness. She seemed to be floating above the floor but there was no sensation. No heat, no cold no nothing. Just a feeling of not being.

Then she felt the sensation of movement as she 'floated' near the beautiful woman lying in the bed. Her spirit attached itself to the body and crashed headlong into it. Both bodies gasped hard for air at the same time and sat up looking around trying to figure out what was going on.

"Harry?" a squeaky voiced brunette called out confused.

Harry looked across the bed to see a woman staring at her. She was also fondling her own small but pert breasts.

"Jake?" the red head called out in a sexy low voice.

They both looked at themselves then down at their bodies. They both screamed and passed out at the same time.

"Lorilei Donahoe, You whom we dub The Seeker, You have done well. You have progressed to a higher plane and are pronounced Adept." The priestess smiled and traced a figure in the air and bowed her head to Lori. Lori curtsied and graciously accepted her blessing. Marlene beamed like a proud mother. Lori looked towards her and Marlene winked at her.

The women closed the circle and finished the ceremonies then immediately disbanded and headed for wherever. Nobody spoke and no one broke the silent graceful departure. This was not the time for socializing, other times and places were designated for that. Two women made sure the fire was out and that all symbols were safely erased. When they were finished only the fire ring would be left to show they had ever been there.

Marlene gave Lori a ride home and the whole way they said nothing to each other.

When they arrived at their home, it was two in the morning and Lori expected Harry to be upstairs sleeping. She thought she would go up and check on him later.

It was a regular suburban home. The new age influence was not subtle though. It was obvious she was a student of Feng Shui and the entire house was a well designed patchwork of color and materials. She had incense burners and various mystic symbols here and there. Mixed with Harry's good taste in neo-classical art, it looked very homey in a high income kind of way.

She dropped her purse and tiredly scraped into the kitchen to put on some coffee. Marlene lit up one of Harry's cigars. She kicked back and picked up a cosmopolitan.

Lori came out of the kitchen with two cups. "The coffee will be ready in a minute..." she stopped suddenly in her tracks. She put the cups down on the table and stood indignantly in front of Marlene.

Marlene sensed that something was wrong and she lowered the magazine to come face to face with the fury of Lori. She folded the magazine neatly and placed it cover down on the table in front of her. She gave her best innocent smile then waved childishly at Lori.

"Honestly, you're worse than most men. I have a Victoria's Secret catalog around here somewhere would you like to read that?" Lori chastised.

"You know the good thing about those? If you're a lesbian you can get an eyeful and shop at the same time!" Marlene meant it as a joke but Lori did not think it was funny.

Harry awoke feeling groggy and strange. She looked over and saw Jake lying under the covers in the bed. She picked herself up and walked over to Jake. She felt weird as she walked but dismissed it as tiredness. She shook the figure lying under the covers, "Jake I just had the weirdest dream!" she started, the sound of her own voice confused her. The covers stirred as Jake kicked them off revealing Jakes new feminine body underneath.

Harry almost screamed. She just managed to get her hand to her mouth in time to stifle it. She almost screamed again when she noticed how manicured and long the nails were and that they were an almost transluscent white.

Jake awoke with a start, "What is it Harry?" she said in a panic. "My voice, what the..." she stammered not believing what she heard. She looked down and saw to small breasts protruding from her chest. "Is this some kind of Joke Harry?" Jake said incredulously. Then she saw Harry and gasped. "You're not Harry, You look like my sister. What's goin on?" He demanded.

Lori was beginning to wonder why Harry was not waking up to the sound of their laughter and conversation. She thought the coffee at least usually got him out of bed to make a cup of tea to remove the taste of coffee from his mouth.

"Whatcha thinking?" Marlene said childishly. Almost as if she knew something.

"I was just wondering why Harry was sleeping like the dead tonight." she said suspiciously.

"Something tells me that Harry's gonna wish he was dead before the night is through." She said almost laughing.

"What? What do you know that you're not telling me?"

After they both ran around for about an hour like chickens with their heads cut off, Harry and Jake stopped to take stock.

They looked at themselves in the mirror. Jake had become a rather petite dark haired woman. She wasn't a model and she looked like a feminine version of Harry. Jake just broke down sobbing. She held her manicured hand to her chest and felt her her small almost teenage like breasts. She could almost pass for a man. Harry had never been a big or handsome man and he could have almost passed for a woman.

Harry could not believe the gorgeous woman she was staring at in the mirror. To call her a bombshell would be an understatement. She felt her body and saw the image in the mirror obey her commands. She still could not make the connection in her head. It was as if she were watching a movie. She did see a lot of Jake's sister in the mirror.

Harry turned to Jake and said,"We've got to get out of here, see a doctor or something."

Jake just cotninued to sob and cry. Harry went over to the sobbing woman and grabbed her. She shook her and slapped her saying,"Snap out of it!"

Finally Jake came to her senses and she wiped the tears out of her eyes. "What'll we do?" she said. Her voice was a high soprano and sounded very angelic. Lori had always loved Harry's voice, she said it was almost as if Harry should have had a career in music. But he had always gone back to finance. His Brother wanted to be a country singer and he was still living in an efficiency apartment eating beans and waiting for his big break. Harry did not want to be a starving artist, working bullshit jobs and smoky honky tonks trying to be discovered. He loved his brother but they were always at odds.

She thought long and hard about what to do. "Maybe if we go home, we can figure out what to do from there."

"What homes?" Jake cried desperately. "If we go anywhere, who'll believe we are who we are?"

"Well we'll have to try something, we can't stay here forever!" Harry snapped.

"Why not, huh? Why not just kill ourselves now. This can't be a dream; you just slapped me so hard I would have felt it in your sleep! I can't deal with this!" Jake said then broke down sobbing again.

Harry felt sympathy, he almost couldn't believe it. If this were a dream where did it come from? He had never wanted anything like this in his whole life. How did this happen? Better yet how could this happen? "Well I need you to come with me. I need you because you look like my sister and that should convince Lori that we're us!"

They dressed up in their male clothes, which now fit them rather uncomfortably. They walked past the desk and payed the bill. The woman behind the counter was in rollers and a mu-mu. She looked over to the couple suspiciously then plucked the cigarette from her mouth and tapped the ashes off the end onto the floor. Harry was disgusted and Jake turned away to hide the tears she had been crying.

"Wadda ya want?" the woman said in thick Brooklyn accent. Her voice sounded strained and weak from years of smoking.

"We want to check out of room 213?" Harry asked surprised at the sultry tone and pitch of the voice.

"We don't got a room 213, I'm too superstitious you hussy!" she shouted. She spat something into a can on the floor after clearing her throat. Then lit up another cigarette. "The standard fee is 10 dollars an hour but after 1:00 am I gotta charge youse guys the full night. 40 bucks!"

Harry was nervous and didn't understand that hussy remark. She also did not understand the remark about having a room 213. All this was a bit overwhelming. Besides, she thought, the old bat seemed a bit senile. She forked over the cash and rushed out the door. The door man looked at them and huffed. "Lesbians, what a perfectly good waste of a beautiful woman!" he said under his breath. All the while eyeing Harry.

They scrambled through the parking lot afraid for their lives. But they finally got to Harry's car. They tore out of that parking lot as if the devil himself was chasing them, little did they know, he had already caught them.

Marlene had been evasive and slippery all night, but Lori thought she had finally had her cornered. She crept slowly across the floor. He soft black paws making no sound on the wooden floor. The lights were out but Lori could see perfectly. Her eyes darted back and forth looking for any signs of movement.

Marlene was patient, but then, so was Lori. Lori had the advantage, she knew Marlene was scared witless. Something flicked across Lori's vision and she jumped towards it. The mouse squeaked fearfully. Her tail was caught in the paw and she couldn't move.

Slowly the black fur started to recede into the cat's skin. Her paws stretched and grew outwards as did her legs. The became long and smooth and the paws grew into hands. The fore legs became arms and the hinds became legs as the cat became a beautiful dark haired woman. She had no clothes but she waved her hands and second later that was rectified. She was so upset that she failed to notice that she still had a giant cat's tail swishing back and forth under her skirt in back of her.

She still held the mouse tail between her fingers. "Okay Marlene, I have had it with this game of cat and mouse. Tell me what you know?" Lori said. The mouse continued to squeak and struggle to get out of her fingers. "Change back now and tell me!" she shouted.

"Tell you what?" a woman's voice said from behind her.

Lori looked at Marlene then back to the mouse. She shrieked and dropped the mouse. "Ahh, I hate mice!" she yelled.

The mouse hit the floor then disappeared into a puff of smoke. "It was only a decoy!" Marlene said.

Lori could feel the anger build up inside of her, she was burning red like a hot coal. Marlene knew Lori would explode if she tried to throw cold water on this.

"Don't be such a wimp, you weren't afraid when you thought it was me!" Marlene stated trying to blow the fire out with dynamite. She was walking an edge.

"That's different. I didn't think you were a real mouse. Yechhhh!" she shivered.

"All right I'll tell you what happened then..." Marlene started innocently. Then she heard someone at the door.

Marlene smiled wickedly, "In fact, that's probably your answer right now!"

They both walked over to the door. Marlene practically skipped and Lori cautiously approached the door. Someone was struggling with the lock. She had been meaning to get the lock fixed and she knew that Harry would never have the time or the will to fix it. That was the only reason she did not fry the person trying to get in, the only person it could possibly be was Harry. Why he wasn't upstairs sleeping she did not know, but she would find out then kill him.

She was surprised when the two women walked through the door. She gasped in shock and dropped the coffee cup she had been holding. Marlene, who had been all smiles, was dumbstruck.

"Who the hell are you?" Marlene asked the women who came through the door.

Lori was just as shocked but she managed to stammer out,"Who are you and why are you wearing my husbands clothes?"

Then it hit her,"Oh my goddess, THE SPELL!" she shouted intensely with anger, after all that had happened tonight this was the last straw. "You asshole! You were cheating on me!"

Marlene stuttered,"Th-th-is isn't what I wanted, what, how?" she did not make any sense, but Lori heard her and stopped just short of frying the woman she thought was Harry.

"What are you talking about Marlene!" Lori demanded.

"Lori," Harry started,"I don't..."

"Who the hell are you?" Lori asked the red head.

Marlene spoke up and said,"That would be your lying, cheating, pinche maricon, haggus sucking husband of yours." she said coldly. "I don't know who the other one is."

"You stay out of this Marlene you knew something about this. Which one of you is Harry?" Lori asked.

"Should be Sherry now..." Marlene added but broke off when Lori looked at her.

"That would be me," the red head said,"what do you know about this Lori." the woman asked.

Lori pointed at her then mumbled a few words. Harry felt something pull at the base of her spine. She felt orange fur sprout on her body. Then she felt her face push out into a muzzle. She felt her eyes change and the whole room changed in her vision. Then she felt her ears grow reshape into a feline form. She felt her tail swishing back and forth behind her. then she hunched down a little then the sensations stopped.

"Mrrrowhat have you done?" she asked in a slightly higher voice.

"Damn, I never can get that one right. Well we can't have you running around like that!" She said then waved her hand. A light glowed in her hand then reached out towards Harry. It wrapped around her neck and formed a solid leash. "Now what were you saying dear." she said with a wicked tone in her voice.

"I was hoping that, mrrow, you wouldn't find out like this. mrrowr." the feline female mewed.

"And who is this? The spell should have put you in her body and left her in your comatose body." Lori spat coldly.

"Spelllll, rrrrrr, what spell?" Harry asked.

Marlene stepped up to her and petted her and scratched behind her ear which was slightly covered by a mane of orange fur. Harry began purring despite herself. "Didn't you know yuir wee lass over there was a witch, and a darn good one at that." she cooed.

"Prrrrrr, what?" she said a bit confused. "I knew she was a bit mean at times..." she started then she recieved a shock from the collar.

"Don't finish that sentence. I didn't turn you into a pig but in can be arranged. Now finish telling me who this is." Lori snapped.

"I wasn't sleeping with another woman honest. I was sleeping with a man because I had too! mrrrrowr!" she said practically hissing.

Lori almost didn't believe what she was hearing. "What? Why? That can't be true!" she said.

Jake was stunned beyond words at the things that were going on. Her mind was gone. Harry went over to her as far as she could with the leash and said, "This used to be Jake Johnson myowwrr boss. What kind of name would Jake be for a woman!"

Then Marlene snapped, "My goddess! She's telling the truth. The spell couldn't handle the fact that he was making love to a man. It adapted the best way it could. It must have turned him into a woman to comply with the rules. Then it could switch the bodies!"

"So!" Lori sounded venomous,"He was still cheating on me. I should leave you like that and move away where you could never find me!"

"You don't understand, mrrrowr, he forced me to do it. I was skimming off the top of the company, Jake caught me and blackmailed me into sleeping with him. Telll her Jake." he said turning to the scared brunette. But she was long gone.

Realizing everything was going wrong for Harry, Marlene saw her chance. "It serves you right, you bloody devil, you ought to be ashamed of yuirself. Dishonoring this poor beautiful woman."

Harry and Lori turned to Marlene and said,"Shutup!" in unison.

She backed down knowing this was going just how she wanted. Lori paced back and forth for a few minutes before stopping in front of Harry. "So why should I believe you?" Lori asked him warily.

"I love you and I can't possibly blame you for feeling the way you do." she said then lowered her head shamefully. "I wouldn't believe any of this stuff if I wasn't living it. I love you and I wouldn't do anything to hurt you on purpose. If you choose not to believe my story I understand but we made vows to each other and I take those very seriously. Mrrowrr, I love you." she said turning away from the woman she loved.

Marlene studied the scene. She looked into Lori's face and saw that she had made her decision. "Wait a minute, you're not going to buy into this little charade are you? So what if Sherry slipped and admitted a 399 dollar mistake that didn't mean that Sherry had to sleep with Jacqueline there. What about your feelings?" she harped.

"Look Marlene I didn't tell him I was a witch when we got married so I understand about keeping secrets. Neither of us should have kept these to our selves but we did. As long as we don't do it again, and if we still love each other..." she said almost in tears.

Harry was staring at Marlene suspiciously. She noticed but didn't say anything. Just as her wife was trailing off, she spoke up,"How did you know that figure Marlene? How did you know something made me slip?"

She was stunned for a minute. "I...I... Just guessed I mean, it had to be something like that. I mean let me guess you were in a hotel in room, oops." she said nervously looking back and forth for an escape route.

"Yes speaking of hotel rooms. Wasn't it funny that the lady at the desk found it odd we said we were checking out of room 213? That she didn't have one?" he asked.

Lori was beginning to eye Marlene with suspicion. She saw that and said nervously,"She didn't say that I..." she said knowing the game was completely up.

"You set me up! You led Jake to find that mistake and you had something to do with that hotel room didn't you. I oughta!" Harry said as she tugged at the leash that was holding her. "No you won't Harry. I will!" Lori said then waved at Lori as she jumped towards the door. She froze in mid stride, knowing that struggling against this type of rage. "Why Marlene? I trusted you, I love you. Why would you try to hurt me?"

Marlene was scared but she answered truthfully. "I have always loved you and he isn't good enough for you. Given the chance he would have cheated on you. I thought that his woman supervisor would catch the mistake. I didn't plan this but it worked out almost the same. I love you Lori. I'm sorry."

"No, I am. I should apologize for you and for myself. The coven will decide your fate. I'll restore you now, but not Jake. Even though Marlene set her up, she could have handled the situation better."

With that Harry felt the fur recede, and, her body and face return to normal. She felt herself try to pull away from her body. She felt dizzy but her spirit would not leave. Finally Lori collapsed. Harry pulled herself together. She felt normal, except for a cat tail sticking out of a hole in her pants. She ignored that and rushed over to Lori.

"Are you all right?" Harry asked.

"Yes, but I can't restore you now. I used up too much energy in the spell and then playing hide and seek with Marlene. I'm using too much energy to hold her and I'm exhausted." she said trying to gulp down air in panting breaths.

"How long then?" Harry asked.

"At least a month. Maybe two. And that's if I don't use any other magic. I just have to meditate and recharge."

"Oh great what about Jake?" he said pointing to the homely woman in a waking coma.

"All I can do for now is make her accept what she is and make it seem like a dream. I've called for help and they should be here soon. They can make her think she has been Jacqueline all her life, until we can restore her." she said as Harry held her close trying to comfort her.

"I love you!" Lori declared.

"I love you too!" Harry replied.

"I guess you better get used to going by the name Sherry for a while!"

They both laughed and laughed and held tight to each other.

...One month later.

"The council has made their decision." The voice boomed loudly. If there was any emotion it didn't show through. Marlene looked around nervously. Lori was just as nervous for her.

"Marlene MacShamus Valdez! You have been found guilty of conspiring to use the coven to achieve your own ends." The voice trailed off leaving silence for a moment. This seemed like an eternity to Marlene. The voice Continued,"However after a plea for leniency on your behalf, we have rendered a fair judgment. You were responsible for the poor soul known as Jake Porter, now known as Jacqueline, becoming unbalanced. You are sentenced to help this soul find her balance again and to return her mind. You will be subject to random inspections by us and you will be under the supervision of Lorilei until such time as we have deemed you repentent. Though you should remember, that life is a circle. Eventually it turns and brings back what you have called forth times three. You are not entirely finished though. We may add punishment as warranted. We have spoken" The voice boomed and trailed off leaving everything in darkness.

Suddenly Marlene felt strange. Her beauty was marred. Her flesh became somewhat rough and her formerly hairless skin was now marred by short stubble. Her hair became dull and wiry. She looked almost Identical to what Jake now looked like.

Jake had been returned to his now feminine body, but it's beauty had also been greatly reduced. They were both now merely average if not below. They now had to shave certain parts of their body like everyone else. Beauty in this sense of justice had to be earned.

Lori still didn't have enough power to produce the antidote for the spell. She had the power to transfer Harry back into his body. She had given Harry's body the look of beauty that had formerly been enjoyed by Marlene and Jacqueline.

"I don't think that I'll ever get used to this!" Harry said. Lori was sitting next to him in the pew in the unnatural courtroom in a natural setting. It looked like your average courtroom, the judges bench the jurors box and pews for the public to watch. The walls were trees and the darkened sky was the judge's bench.

Lori stood up and held out her hand to the dark haired woman,"Well, Sherry, I've had a lot longer to get used to this than you have."

Sherry accepted the hand up and smoothed out the black skirt she was wearing. "I definitely don't ever think I'll get used to this!" She said as her tail swished back and forth behind her.

"Sorry about that, I don't know Why it transferred over when we put you back in your own body." She said lifting her skirt and indicating her own tail. "I never got the hang of that spell. We have to leave now. This courtroom will phase out in a few minutes and we don't wnat to be here when that happens." she said and led Sherry to to the door.

They opened the door and walked through right into the middle of dense foliage. Sherry seemed confused. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that either."

Lori and Sherry walked into the forest on the way back to their home and talked on the way. "I feel I have to apologize for not telling you about my being a witch." Lori started off.

Sherry saw Lori lower her head and said,"No need to apologize. I love you for what you are not what you do." Sherry felt her bra slip a little so she adjusted it and her red blouse. Lori stopped for a second and helped Sherry adjust it.

"But that is who I am and what I do. I'm just regretting that we had any secrets from each other. I've been around a long time, and while I've seen times change, most people don't. Remember it wasn't more than a few hundred years ago that they burned witches at the stake. I figured if I told you about myself you would warm up the barbecue." She laughed.

"I love you and I wouldn't have held that against you. Besides I love eating you raw." They both laughed and started walking again. "I'm the one who should apologize, I only wanted the best for you Lori. But I was a little embarrassed about my problem and didn't know how to approach you with it." They continued walking.

After what seemed like an eternity, Sherry broke the silence. "So how long will it be before you can change me back?" Sherry asked.

"Maybe a month, maybe two. It took a lot more energy than I had just get you to this point, and I am way too weak to even try for a few months." Lori explained.

"Well maybe I can get used to this, but I don't know." As they continued to walk, Sherry looked at Lori and asked, "If I can't change back, will you still love me?"

Lori continued to walk and when she didn't answer, Sherry stopped in her tracks. Lori walked on for a few more steps then stopped. She turned around and her long black broomstick skirt twirled as she turned.

"Why do you think that Marlene assumed she even had a chance with me? I might get used to this arrangement as well." she said. Then she smiled sweetly, turned and skipped off.

Sherry raised and eyebrow, she took that as a yes. A very interesting yes. Sherry ran to catch up with Lori.

"You know if you stay like this it could have benifits."

Confused, Sherry asked,"How?"

"I felt great power in you. It's the reason it took me a while to put you back in your own body and why you resisted changing into a cat. You could take Marlene's place in our coven and, I might add, you could be even more powerful than she was." Lori said while Sherry was trying to keep up with her.

"Wow! Really? I guess I could learn Magick and transform myself back." Sherry said.

"It doesn't work that way. We are a special order, women only. You would have power in our circle only as a woman."

Sherry seemed to think that over,"Well I do want to get back at Marlene..."

"Don't finish that sentence. Look this thinking is what got Marlene in trouble. Our basic tenet is the circle. It all comes around. Whatever you send out you get back in spades. Understand?" Lori told her sternly. Sherry just nodded.

"Speaking of Marlene,"Sherry said,"Does she know you were the one who pleaded on her behalf?"

"No. She might suspect but she can't know for sure. She can never know. If she knew she could influence me not to report back to the council and that could be dire for all of us." There was little emotion in her voice, as if to demonstrate how strong a warning that was.

"She can eventually redeem herself, regain her beauty and some of her power, but she will never again be part of the Thirteen. You will learn of this in time depending on how you decide. Jake was not innocent in this so she will remain a woman for the rest of her life. Magick will be the instrument of her healing, and Marlene and her will be bound heart and soul. I think that Marlene will grow quite fond of her. They have much in common."

"Well they can have each other. I don't need anymore head aches." Sherry said. "I think I will take you up on that offer. Obviously I have a lot of time to think about it."

"I would say so. You would make a good addition to our circle and I want to love you for a long time to come." Lori said and pulled Sherry close and wrapped an arm around her. They kissed each other briefly but passionately. They walked faster now breaking through to civilization onto the street where their home resided.

"So how long exactly have you been around?" Sherry asked.

"Don't EVEN go there Sherry."

The End.


End file.
